The socially-reponsible design squad at Artecnica opened their first showroom in Los Angeles last night and designers, architects and artists thronged the simple white storefront in appreciation. Well, and for a glimpse of flower-power designer Tord Boontje during his second-ever visit to LA (even though he’s been working with Artecnica for ages). Gracious hostess Tahmineh Javanbakht greeted guests near the bar, her neck layered with chains, charms, beads and bangles to glamorous effect, while Rose Apodaca presided over a pop-up version of boutique A+R in the back.

Freya Bardell told us about luring high-heeled ladies down to the LA River during the Frogtown Art Walk. Modernica’s Frank Novak loved the wares but couldn’t take the stratospheric decibel-level of the DJ much longer. We speared cheese and strawberries with Metropolis’ Jade Chang while reminiscing about the caviar parfaits we’d put away at the media dinner for Philippe Starck-designed XIV the previous night (the food had far outshined the decor).

An adorable Boontje was thrilled to see his Midsummer Light Tyvek cut-outs deconstructed, colored and decoupaged by local elementary school kids, thanks to non-profit LA’s Best—and we have to say, some of them were really good! While Boontje talked about his ongoing collaborations with founder Enrico Bressan—including his new Witches Kitchen, scarily appropriate for its pre-Halloween release date—we couldn’t help but be distracted by the PDA pair of Adam Eeuwens and Rebeca Méndez, nuzzling near Boontje’s Come Rain Come Shine light. We suppose an evening of “design with conscience” could be a turn-on for some…